October 2011

Today the French met service has issued an "alerte orange" equivalent to a "flash flood warning" for the Gard department. Here is what you need to know about these typical local storms.

Languedoc enjoys a dry climate for most of the year, but it is punctuated by occasional monsoon-like heavy rainfalls, known as Cevenol storms (Cevennes storms), which can dump large quantities of water in a very short space of time on the southern slopes of the Cévennes, causing major flooding of rivers such as the Gard or the Herault. This happens most often in late summer and early autumn when warm wet air comes in of the Mediterranean. Located to the South of the Cévennes mountain range, the Uzège is exposed to those "flash floods."

Tessa Boase and her husband Nick decide to walk along side the Roman aqueduct towards Nîmes from Uzès, and the Pont du Gard. (originally published in the Telegraph back in 2009):

How pleasant it is to step onto Eurostar in St Pancras and shimmy off to France so smoothly that your complimentary Champagne barely ripples in the glass. A change of platform at Lille and you're heading south on the TGV, to the blue skies of Avignon and the vineyards of Provence.

When we arrive in Avignon, we bypass the car-hire desk and instead, jump into a local taxi that takes us through lush vineyards to the ancient duchy of Uzès. From here, my husband Nick and I banish all further forms of transport. We will be travelling on foot, following the line of the crumbling Roman aqueduct over the famous Pont du Gard and then onwards to the stone stronghold of Castillon-du-Gard – 20 miles in all, three days on foot.

"You're absolutely sure about not having to walk with all our stuff on our backs?", my husband asks again as we speed uphill into Uzès. I am sure. Our luggage will be whisked ahead of us every day. Walking holidays are not, mercifully, about privation. And so to our king-size bed in the medieval hotel's attic suite, after a promisingly indulgent dinner involving pâté de foie gras and a velvety Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Three types of scorpions can be found in Provence and Languedoc, according to Max Goyffon, a specialist on scorpions and the head of the laboratory at the Paris Museum of Natural History. And there is no reason to fear for one's safety, though: the Marseilles Antipoison Center says that since it opened in 1967, it has never registered a death or even a "serious" case following a scorpion's sting. The center gets an average of 50 calls in July and in August, and many fewer in other months (scorpions hibernate in winter). A scorpion sting in Provence is less dangerous than some bee stings, the center says. The worst risk is getting an infection not from the sting itself, but from the tiny wound it leaves, as with any cut or scrape, the center says.

The most common scorpion in the region, the Euscorpius flavicaudis, is black with yellow stinger and legs. This scorpion is harmless, according to Dr. Goyffon. These black scorpions may be found in basements or bathrooms as they like damp settings. They sometimes take refuge inside buildings after a heavy rain. A second, smaller type, Euscorpius carpathicus, black with dark red legs, is found in higher elevations, generally above 1,000 feet. It, too, is harmless, Dr. Goyffon says. The third type, the Buthus occitanus, is yellow or brown and found in the countryside of Provence and Languedoc. This scorpion is rarely encountered by anyone other than a person knowledgeable about the insect world who is searching for one, Dr. Goyffon said. While the sting of Buthus occitanus has been known to kill children in North Africa, the scorpion is harmless in France, according to Dr. Goyffon, probably for reasons related to the cooler climate in France.

When in Uzès with some time on your hands, go to the Ancien Evéché – in the courtyard, on the right hand side, you will see a sign for the Museum Georges Borias. Don’t hesitate to step in (and climb up).

History

The museum was set up in the early 20th century by two locals: a painter and a poet. The painter, José Belon, asked his artist friends to donate artworks in order to create a fine arts gallery. Albert Roux, the poet who wrote in Provençal dialect, wanted to create a « Museon Uzétien » - a folklore museum like the « Museon Arlaten » created by the famous Provençal poet Frédéric Mistral in Arles. The museum was created in 1910 and found its home at the townhall. Later they were completed with a collection donated by a local archeologist (items discovered in archaeological sites of the area).

After World War II, the museum had fallen into oblivion. Georges Borias, an art teacher at the local high school, saved it by reorganizing it. During more than forty years he directed this museum as a voluntary worker, helping to make it grow and improve. Since 1978, the museum is settled in l’Evéché, the former bishops’ palace (17th century), a beautiful heritage building located between the old city and the Eure valley.

This is the first a series about what you should expect to pay for a house in Uzège, and my opinion about the state of the market.

Trend: price stabilization

Prices had been rising steeply in Uzège in the seven years up to 2008 – when the high-speed-train (TGV) first put Uzès less than 3 hours from Paris. However, the local property market bubble has not quite burst since the global downturn of 2008/2009 – rather, it has “shrunk”. The financial crisis has not lead to a huge drop in prices here, rather it has resulted in prices rising at a much more sedate pace, with buyers being more demanding and sellers slightly more reasonable in their expectations. Since the beginning of the summer (June 2011) we are witnessing a clear consolidation: not a buyer’s market yet, but getting there. It will take some time (at least 6 months maybe I would say) for the sellers to digest the fact that buyers – even though in less secure financial environment they make be enticed by the security of a real estate investment – are even more demanding, even less willing to pay the asking price.

Benchmarks

As of October 2011, you can expect to pay about 2,200€-to-2600€ per sq.m for old stone farmhouses with character (“mas”), 1,800€-to-2,400€ per sq.m for village houses (no gardens nor pool) and 1,600-to-2,900€ for apartments (with a limited supply, mainly in Uzès or St-Quentin-La-Poterie).

I have long seen those fields seemingly planted with... wild and colored flowers. Today, I stopped by one of these fields (between Serviers and Aigaliers), curious. I could spot a sign, explaining that they are "wildlife cultivations" (cultures faunistiques) sponsored by hunters' groups (who pay farmers to plants wild flowers, in essence) aimed at providing a habitat for a range of small animals in the wild. Such cultivations are established to promote the game and they have many advantages: seeded at low density, they leave room for spontaneous vegetation rich in species, they provide wildlife cover and food and they help to diversify the agricultural landscape and create habitat alternations.

Such cultivations are of agronomic interest: improved soil structure and fertility and reducing erosion risk by ensuring that the soil is left bare during the winter, maintenance of agricultural plots in a satisfactory condition after removal of a vine and before recultivation. They are good for beekeeping. For the wildlife, they provide a food source: either direct (seeds, green parts, flowers, fruits) or indirect (insects settle). For example, cruciferous, such as mustard, are rich in aphids and beetles that feed the chicks of many bird species. They are a refuge for wildlife, especially during the breeding season: small mammals (bats, hedgehogs), passerines (larks, buntings), game species (quail, partridge) and even steppe species acclimated open spaces such as the little bustard and stone curlew.

Last week-end, I visited Sabran (population: 1,800), a village 20 km north of Uzès - made up of 8 different hamlets. Vineyards, hills, a huge territory - with the southern part turned towards Uzès, via St Marcel de Carereit, and on the other side, nice views over the Mont Ventoux.

Last week-end (October 7, 8 & 9) more than 600 endurance horses aged 4-6 competed in Uzès, known as the cradle of endurance riding in France, for the French national young horses finals (watch video below). About 2,500 visitors attended.

The National Stud Farm at Uzès has encouraged the discipline of endurance riding for the past 19 years, and has confirmed hundreds of young French horses to the sport. The City of Uzès and the Communauté de communes de l’Uzège have invested over half a million Euro to turn the farm into a modern, world class equestrian venue, with top notch facilities.

Each year, another nation is invited to discover these French finals. Last year the riders of Brazil were invited and rode horses that were prepared by the breeders of the region. This year an official delegation has been chosen from China to further their emerging interest onto the endurance scene. In past years, riders and trainers from Italy, Germany and Great Britain, Belgium and Sweden have been successful in this ride.

Endurance riding is a test of equestrian endurance which was formally organized in the United States in the 1950s, and brought to Europe in the 1960s, although it existed in a less formal form long before that. Like many equestrian sports, endurance riding has its roots in the training of military horses, which were often required to travel long distances over highly varied and hazardous terrain. People and horses of all ages compete in endurance riding, and rides vary in length from short pleasure rides designed for young and beginning riders to treks which may last for as many as five days. Endurance riding is highly demanding for both horse and rider in terms of physical ability and judgment.

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Discover a preserved part of the South of France, in western Provence: from pottery farms (in Saint-Quentin-La-Poterie) to flamenco festivals (in Nîmes), from cooking schools to real estate ideas, from guest houses and boutique hotels to private tour guides - we cover it all.

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